Indivisible Partners Invests $774,000 in Morgan Stanley $MS

Indivisible Partners purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 4,362 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $774,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Olistico Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. WFA of San Diego LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 65.2% in the third quarter. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. now owns 185 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the period. Finally, Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on MS. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $207.00 price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Citizens Jmp reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. UBS Group raised Morgan Stanley from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $195.00 to $196.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $203.17.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 51,668 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.59, for a total value of $9,744,068.12. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 282,142 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $53,209,159.78. The trade was a 15.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 14,690 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.24, for a total value of $2,779,935.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 365,802 shares in the company, valued at approximately $69,224,370.48. This trade represents a 3.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 77,476 shares of company stock valued at $14,644,762. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Key Stories Impacting Morgan Stanley

Here are the key news stories impacting Morgan Stanley this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley is piloting spot crypto trading on its E*Trade platform (charging 50 bps per trade) with plans to roll access to all ~8.6M E*Trade clients later this year — a direct new revenue stream and a distribution advantage if it scales. Morgan Stanley Pilots Crypto Trading on E*Trade Platform
• Positive Sentiment: MS’s low‑fee crypto push (0.5% per trade) is already being framed as a catalyst for a fee war that could boost crypto ETF adoption and retail trading volumes — a strategic win for MS’s asset and trading businesses if ETFs and custody flows accelerate. Crypto Fee War Ignites On Wall Street
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley led Q1 construction‑sector M&A by deal value, highlighting strength in its investment‑banking franchise and dealflow — supportive for IB fee revenue and positioning. Morgan Stanley tops construction sector M&A rankings
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst action is constructive: Daiwa raised Morgan Stanley’s price target (from $175 to $198), a signal that some sell‑side desks see more upside after recent beats. That supports near‑term sentiment. Daiwa raises MS price target
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s public research and market commentary (on earnings momentum and AI capex) keeps the firm visible and influential — supportive for franchise value but mixed for immediate stock moves. This is why stocks keep rallying, according to Morgan Stanley
• Negative Sentiment: A WSJ/Reuters report says U.S. regulators have opened a preliminary probe into Morgan Stanley’s Budapest investment‑banking program — an operational/regulatory overhang that could create legal expense, management distraction, or reputational risk if it expands. Investors should watch for official disclosures. US probe into Budapest program

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of MS opened at $193.13 on Thursday. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $118.20 and a 52-week high of $194.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $172.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $173.42. The firm has a market cap of $305.42 billion, a PE ratio of 17.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.22.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.02 by $0.41. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 17.89% and a net margin of 14.65%.The firm had revenue of $20.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.23 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.60 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 11.85 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 30th will be paid a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 30th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 36.23%.

Morgan Stanley Company Profile

Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) is a global financial services firm headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1935 by Henry S. Morgan and Harold Stanley, the company provides a broad range of investment banking, securities, wealth management and investment management services to corporations, governments, institutions and individual investors. Leadership has been guided by a senior executive team and board of directors; James P. Gorman has served as the company’s chief executive and chairman in recent years.

The firm’s primary business activities are organized around three principal businesses: Institutional Securities, Wealth Management and Investment Management.